


Time

by Squish13



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, I'm a horrible person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 08:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10213568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squish13/pseuds/Squish13
Summary: One doesn't realize what they have until it's gone.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this was part of an art exchange/contest from August of 2016 which feels like forever ago now... And so it's been up on tumblr and ffn for a while, but I only thought of posting it here after reading some other fics and well, things. Well regardless, I hope you enjoy! Or not.

So many years on this planet.  So many years of seeing organics come and go.  Through the war, and her return, that was one thing which never changed.  So then… why did _he_ have to be so different?  Jasper wasn’t like Rose Quartz, she wasn’t like that hybrid _Steven_.  It took so much for her to appreciate this life.  From being trapped, her corruption, and _him_ … 

Greg.  He was the man who stole her metaphorical heart.  Even after all the things she did to his son in the beginning, it was Greg who gave her a chance.  To think a squishy Earth being would soften her up so.  Every day, they washed cars, every night they watched the stars.  He taught her the good music could do, as they listened to his old albums in that miserable van. 

Miserable for Jasper as she spent the early days crammed in the back.  But that was also where they were their closest.  She’d lie awake as the man slept, snuggling up to her, covering himself in her wild mane every night as if she were a blanket.  But it was… endearing.  With the cracks of snores escaping his mouth, she’d bring him closer in, and he’d cuddle up to her in return. 

But organic life does not last.  He had shown her the pictures, from his youngest days to the most recent.  Like the changing seasons of the year, even she had experienced his changes firsthand, as his hair greyed and grew white as fallen snow.

When she had first known him, they would take walks up to the lighthouse and look over the water as the sun rose.  Those walks became less frequent as he grew on, and eventually they had even stopped.  Walks the poor human could no longer make.  From time to time, the gem had carried him up that hill above the temple, but even that came to an end.  Her touch being too much for the fragile human.

When she had first known him, they would stuff their faces with that organic sustenance.  She’d watch as he partook in competitions, eating until he could no more.  As time moved on, he could no longer handle such things.  The human needed softer foods as he aged, and the gem would always be there, when he could no longer sustain himself.

When she had first known him, the human would play his guitar.  Plug the instrument into amps, replay his old songs, and even teach her.  The gem loved harsher tunes, most of all.  And he would drive her along to rock concerts, where they would listen together.  As the years carried on, the human never lost his enjoyment of music.  But those harsher pieces the gem loved so much became hard on his hearing.  The gem used the knowledge her human had passed on, and played for him every time he asked.

A tear rolled from the gem’s golden eyes, followed by another, and yet more, spilling onto a picture she held before her.  An old memory in terms of humans, only a fraction of time for the alien race.  Within the photo, Jasper stood as a proud quartz, flexing one arm, holding Greg up with the other.  She had remembered that day well.  Greg quite loudly expressed his hesitations with being held up in the air, and Steven was laughing too much to hold the camera still.  Eventually it was handed off to Pearl, who made too much of a fuss about framing, then to Garnet, who got this perfect picture on the first shot.  Jasper would have laughed, were the situation different.

“Jasper?”

The gem wiped the tears away.  She could never shed a tear in the past.  The sight she was met with was Steven.  Decades had passed since they first met, and he still held a look much younger than his true age.  Though, he could certainly make his way into a club without being asked for a birth certificate anymore.  That phase certainly lasted much longer than the boy liked.

“It’s time.” He said, placing a hand upon the shoulder of his quartz kin. 

The jasper wiped her face once more.  How that pearl would disapprove of her ruining her suit like this.  She took one last look at the picture which appeared tiny in her large hand, stuffing it into the right breast pocket of this black suit she wore.  The gem hadn’t had a look this sour on her face since the heir of Rose Quartz saved her from corruption.  “I’m ready.”  She spoke.  But it was a lie.  She knew this moment would come eventually, but she was never ready.

The two entered the room, it becoming all too quiet as the guests noticed who had arrived.  Steven stepped up to the coffin first, whispering his final prayers and farewells for his father.  When he stepped away, reuniting with his wife and child, Jasper felt her heart drop even more.  Gems never had such ceremonies for a passing.  But that wasn’t to say they did not mourn the loss of those closest to them.  The first time Jasper felt such a loss was for her diamond.  Now here she was, once again.

The tall gem stepped up to the casket, looking down upon the face of the man she so dearly loved, frozen in time.  “I don’t know what to say…”  She started.  “For so many years, I had almost forgotten how short you all lasted.  I had fun, Greg.  And I wouldn’t have if you weren’t there for me.”  The gem paused, her voice cracked, tears spilling over once more.  “I love ya…  And I promise… I’ll watch after him for ya…  And his offspring…  Oh, and before I go, tell Rose she was right.  This planet is worth protectin’.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments help me know how I'm doing!
> 
> This is your lovely Squish wishing you all a fantastic day! :D


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